Rendering lard is pretty much just heating up the pork fat slowly so that it melts and separates itself from anything else within the fat. If the fat is left too long the cracklings will start to burn causing your lard to turn a deep yellow and ends up having a piggie, chicharon type of smell and taste to it instead of being odorless. If you’re using the lard to fry, this isn’t a big deal. However if you’re using it for pastries you don’t want a piggie, chicharon flavor to your pie or cookie. Get the picture?

In the picture above the first spoon you can tell is snow white leaf lard and odorless. The second spoon is off color and yes has a bit of a piggie smell. It’s still great for frying and sauteing. However, I do reserve my snow white leaf lard for pastries.

How to Render Lard the Right Way (Snow White, Odorless)

Step 1. Cut your leaf lard or back fat into small pieces. *Tip – Ask your family farmer to have the fat ground. The process is much quicker and in my opinion, leads to better results.

Step 2. Add 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of acrock pot and add the cut up pork fat. (The water will prevent the fat from burning before the pork fat starts to melt. It will end up evaporating itself out) Set the crockpot on low and let it go for about an hour.

Step 3. In about an hour check the crock. It’s important to keep an eye on the crock to make sure the fat doesn’t start to burn. When the fat starts to melt, it will separate itself from the “cracklings,” (crisp residue left after lard has been rendered). At this point after about 1.5 – 2 hours once the cracklings start to settle on the bottom of the crock, it’s done!

Step 4. Ladle the melted fat into a cheese clothlined colander separating the melted fat from the cracklings.

The cracklings should not be crispy, they should be soft and ground like.

From here, ladle the melted pork fat into pint sized mason jars. The fat should look a pale yellow in the mason jar. Let them cool on the counter. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

You can now return the cracklings to the crock pot and let them go until they have turned brown and crispy. You can use these for different foods or sprinkled on top of salads. They are delicious!

One thing to remember on this entire process is that once the pork fat starts to melt, go ahead and start separating it right away, mix the remaining fat allowing more to fat to render out. There’s no magic number to how many hours it needs to render but really it’s going to take practice. Have fun with it and don’t worry if it smells a little piggie, it still tastes great and the health benefits make this process entirely worth it.

Making Olive Oil Soap With Wood Ash and Olive Oil From Start to Finish

There are three natural ingredients in a bar of soap: Rain or soft water, fat (olive oil) and lye. You can buy lye but you should know how to make lye so that you understand how to make soap from start to finish. Making Lye or Potassium Hydroxide.

What is lye?

Lye made from wood ash produces potassium hydroxide, commercial lye is known as sodium hydroxide. Wood ash makes a much softer soap sodium hydroxide makes a more sturdy harder soap, that is the difference.

There is a process known as Saponification.

Saponification is what happens when lye, water, and fat are mixed together. It is the process of when the chemical compounds of one ingredient become another, in this case soap.

There are two processes the Cold and Cooked.

We use the cold way. In this way you add the correct amounts of water, lye and oil, mix them together and let sit for about two – four weeks. At the end of the process there is no sodium hydroxide left in your soap and it is safe and pure.

There are many other natural additives that can be used in your soaps. You may get color and fragrances from berries, herbs, flowers, honey, oatmeal, sugar and essential oils and natural extracts. Keep it natural using mint or rosemary grown from your garden. Remember essential oils are those that are extracted from a plant and therefore natural and also have healing properties and real health benefits. Fragrant oil is made from chemicals but smells good. Never use anything that is artificial. Make your own extracts.

Wait! Be sure that you have a bottle of vinegar near by and already open, safely goggles, long up the arm rubber gloves and a respirator. These items are essential for your health and safety. Lye is also POISON so NEVER use the same pots or utensils for food use once they have come in contact with lye. NEVER store LYE in unmarked bottle or where children can get to it.

Wear the eye goggles and rubber gloves the entire time you are making soap, wear the respirator while you are mixing the lye water and keep the vinegar near by and open – if you should splash the lye water onto your skin pour the vinegar on it fast to neutralize the chemical reaction. Be safe and have fun! If you have questions or don’t completely understand the procedure of soap making, call us at 352-345-590 and we’ll be happy to help or better explain.

This is an easy recipe for olive oil soap (cold process).

Basic Soap Making

Total Time: 1 hour or less.

Ingredients:

· 6.5 oz. palm oil

· 6.5 oz. coconut oil

· 7.5 oz. olive oil

· 8 oz. water

· 3.1 oz. lye

· 1 oz. of essential oil blend or natural herbal extracts.

Preparation:

Mix your lye solution first and set it aside to cool. Measure and heat your solid oils until completely melted. Measure and add the liquid oils to the melted solid oils. When both the lye and the oils are at about 100-110 degrees, slowly pour the lye solution into the oils. Stir with a stick blender, alternating short blasts with the blender and stirring. Mix the soap until it reaches a light trace. Add the fragrance or extract. Mix them into the soap thoroughly, be sure the oils and lye water are completely mixed together and smooth like pudding. Pour the raw soap into your mold, cover and let it sit for 12-24 hours until it has cooled off completely and is hard enough to cut. Remove it from the mold and slice into bars. Wrap and let it cure an additional 2-4 weeks.

Some wonderful and easy to grow or purchase ingredients for soap are:

Orange for skin:

Orange peel helps to clean out your skin by extracting dirt from the pores.

Orange peel is a natural skin bleacher and can help lighten dark blotches on the skin and effectively remove them with time.

Orange peels brighten your skin and make your skin glow.

Oranges fight off oxygen free radicals that deprive healthy skin cells of oxygen by stealing oxygen molecules from them. These free radicals play a significant role in creating wrinkles in skin and also lead to sagging of cheeks and eyes. The significant amount of calcium in an orange peel is very effective for protecting against premature aging of the skin.

The abundant vitamin c and anti-oxidants in orange peel maintains the oils of the skin-preventing both very oily and dry skin.

Lemon juice has natural antibacterial properties that make it a good choice to help cure acne and prevent further breakouts. Using lemon juice on blackheads has been shown to reduce the frequency and severity of blackheads.

Lemon juice exfoliates the skin. The citric acid acts as a gentle “skin peel” that separates and removes the top layer of dead skin cells form the healthier lower layers. Using lemon on your skin results in a smooth complexion when used regularly.

Other benefits of using lemon juice on the skin include brightening or lightening the skin, moisturizing and toning oily skin, and fighting wrinkles, shrinks pores, hydrates, refreshes and nourishes, smells delicious.

Try our all natural olive oil with lemon extract and lemon peel (zest) soap and see the difference.

Almond extract is beneficial to your skin, it seals in moisture to prevent your skin from drying out and flaking. The moisture naturally keeps skin young and healthy.

Almonds also have various antioxidants and anti aging properties, you can use almonds to reduce wrinkles and fine lines in your face and to prevent aging and reduce black circles around eyes and revitalize your skin. Small olive bits added to the soap help exfoliate and remover dean and dried skin

Try our natural olive oil with almond extract and almond bits and see a difference immediately.

Raspberry extract will help keep skin fresh and smooth and luminous because it naturally regenerates new skin cells.

Use Lavender soap for skin conditions and to heal rashes caused by fungus or bacteria. Lavender has been used for centuries as a natural cure for skin disorders and to inhibit the bacteria that causes skin infection.

Lavender extract has antiseptic and antifungal properties it is used to treat and cure acne and psoriasis and helps to relieve pain and heal scarring caused by cuts, scrapes, burns, and sunburns. It is an anti-inflammatory, it relaxes the muscles, relieves anxiety and smells wonderful.

Olive Leaf, my personal favorite.

Is used for moisturizing the skin because it naturally hydrates and holds in the moisture. Olive leaf works to unclog pores and nourish the skin.

New research has shown that olive leaf helps protect the skin for aging. Olive leaves and olive oil have several different antioxidant, antifungal and antibacterial properties all of which help free the skin from the damage of free radicals that can lead to skin aging, skin cancer, skin rashes and skin diseases.

Olive leaf is great for use on scars, cuts, scrapes, rough areas, dry area and patchy areas and other areas of the skin that need extra care. Olive Leaf Extract is one of greatest natural antibiotics on earth. In addition to its potent antibiotic power, olive leaf extract provides the extra benefit of no side effects. Olive leaf extract has been shown to be effective against, Shingles, Eczema, Acne, Rashes, Poison Ivy and other skin conditions.

Mint – Mint has a cooling calming affect, feels great on your skin and relieves minor burns. It helps to restore skin elasticity, tightens pores, has anti-inflammatory properties and reduces irritations, it’s also great for oily skin. Medicinally can sooth burns and help clear acne.

Order your soaps on line or by phone 352-35-590 shipping is free. Join our soap making workshops and learn to make all natural soaps and get way from the detergents and petroleum products that can make skin age, cause skin problems and rashes.

Honey – Honey is wonderful to use in soap and has many benefits but be sure to use raw honey because if it isn’t raw then you’re not getting the true value and natural enzymes. Honey is a mild antiseptic, when natural raw honey is mixed with water it produces hydrogen peroxide and can be used on cuts or abrasions. Honey also promotes new tissue growth, increases elasticity, stimulates collagen production and helps to minimize wrinkles. Honey can actually reverse damage done to your skin. Honey has been used in soaps for centuries.